Jobs repetitive in nature may go, say experts.
Dr Jitendra K Das cited the incident where Facebook had to abandon an experiment undertaken last year, where two artificially-intelligent programmes or chat bots appeared to be chatting to each other in a strange language which they had developed on their own and which only they understood, This set the tone of the conclave on “The Confluence of Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics” held recently at the FORE School of Management, New Delhi, in association with the BRICS Chamber of Commerce And Industry.
Dr Das further explained how, with the help of complex virtual learning techniques, a wide range of physical and cognitive tasks are being managed today with a high level of efficiency and accuracy.
As artificial intelligence (AI) systems advance through machine learning, these will continue to impact not just business but our lives as well. But, if machines indeed continue to improve their performance beyond human levels, a natural question to ask is whether machines will put humans’ jobs at risk and reduce employment.
According to Vijay Sethi, CIO and Head CSR at Hero MotoCorp Ltd., “Such a concern is not new. In fact, it dates back to the 1940s when AIs and automation started developing.”
Time and again, these concerns have been raised by the citizens of the world. Some apprehensions even stretched to the point where one wondered whether instead of being controlled, AIs would instead control us – turning us, in effect, into cyborgs?
Demystifying AIs and addressing these concerns on the future of human work and employment, Binay Rath, Director, APAC Alliances and Channels, Oracle Health Sciences GBU, mentioned that the benefits of AI are clear. So, instead of being concerned about the threats of AIs, we need to first understand what an AI is and what its potential will be. Following this, ethical policy frameworks need to be in place for the operation of machines and AI-automated systems.
Nishith Pathak, Vice President at Accenture Labs India, who has authored many books on AI, echoed similar sentiments. Citing the example of postal services, he said that though we do not write letters nowadays, postmen and post offices have not become redundant. These days, they have a different role to play with a different set of responsibilities. Likewise, some low-level programming jobs may go – and instead, data scientists will be in huge demand.
Sumeet Kad, Portfoliio Marketing Manager, IBM Healthcare and Life Sciences, who’s a blogger on the subject, mentioned how the healthcare industry landscape is undergoing a rapid transformation across the globe in the field of big data and analytics. He also mentioned how AIs are playing a cognitive role in transforming healthcare organisations in improving the quality of care, reducing costs, engaging patients and allowing organisations to focus more on wellness and standardising the care-process.
Also present in the conclave to provide insights into the present and future and deliberating the impact of AIs on enterprises and lives were BBL Madhukar, Secretary General at BRICS CCI and VP at FORE School, Sumit Bhalla data scientist, IBM India, Dhruv Singhal , Head Solution Architecture, Amazon India, Shashikant Brahmankar, Director, HCL Technologies India, Anupam Saronwala, Former Programme Director, IBM Research Business Development, Deepak Wadhawan, Chief Executive, Institution of Internal Auditors – India, and Shilpi Jain, faculty member and convener of the AI Conclave.
The discussions focused upon some of the pertinent questions highlighting the use of tools and methods to prepare, organise and tap into the transformative power of AIs, and to unearth practical applications and the current commercialization of AI technologies (like machine learning and deep learning) across industries. Most importantly, there were also discussions on the nuances and ethical practices or policies which have to be in place in the future.